Stem cell therapy has one big limitation, and that’s where medical professionals get their stem cells in the first place. Stem cells do need to be sourced from people. Now, while your body does continue to produce stem cells throughout its lifetime, that doesn’t mean that you want to just remove all the stem cells from your body. You need stem cells in your system at all times to maintain homeostasis.
You also need them to divide and become future stem cells. Taking too many at once can interrupt or even catastrophically tip the scales to the point where your health suffers.
This doesn’t mean that stem cells are hard to acquire. You can get stem cells from blood cells, for example. Once extracted, scientists can even grow stem cells from that batch by energizing them and, in doing so, encouraging them to divide.
Professionals can then use stem cells to treat a wide variety of conditions, from arthritis all the way to autoimmune diseases or even wound recovery.
Of course, not every stem cell is going to be a good fit. Some cells are too hard to obtain, in other cases, there may be not enough in the donated tissue sample to justify the effort or the stem cell therapy cost.
There are specific cells that are simply better suited for stem cell treatments. What is the most effective source of stem cells, you may ask? This guide answers all of the following:
What is the Most Effective Source of Stem Cells?
While all stem cells can become other cells, there are specific cell types that are more useful in treatments than others. This is because stem cell count matters. While stem cells may be found in most of our tissue, if there aren’t enough to put together a treatment, it’s a waste of time and resources.
Types of Stem Cells
So, what type of stem cells are the most effective source? First you need to understand what are stem cells, and their differences:
- Multipotent Stem Cells: These are adult cells that can become a limited number of specific cells. For example, stem cells from fatty tissue can become skin or muscle, but not white blood cells.
- Pluripotent Stem Cells: There are also what’s known as pluripotent or embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells can become any cell in the human body, but are very difficult to obtain ethically. This limits how many are available for treatment, even if we energize them to grow stem cells after the fact in a lab.
There are also totipotent cells (which can become embryonic cells, and any cell in the human body), but these are available in even smaller numbers, and not viable for use in stem cell therapy.
Where Stem Cells Can Be Sourced Today
Currently, there are a few sources of stem cells:
Donated IVF Samples
If a couple discontinues their IVF treatment and has leftover fertilized eggs, then they may decide to donate their embryos to science. This is where we can get the most effective stem cells, but it’s not an effective source due to its limit. For this reason, these stem cells are almost exclusively used for stem cell research.
Wharton’s Jelly/Umbilical Cords
Adult cells can be sourced from any tissue in the human body, but a source that is particularly rich with stem cells are umbilical cords, and the Wharton’s Jelly that surrounds them. Wharton’s Jelly, in particular, is where we can source specific cell types that lack a surface protein other stem cells have. This protein is typically singled out by immune systems and attacked, so choosing stem cells that lack that protein can help increase treatment success.
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Induced pluripotent stem cells are genetically modified stem cells. They may be sourced from umbilical cords initially or other sources, but they are then genetically reprogrammed back into their pluripotent state. Due to the cost and time needed to create these cells, they’re also exclusively used currently in stem cell research.
The Best Place to Source Stem Cells Today
The issue with induced pluripotent stem cells is that it can take months to produce a single strain of iPSCs, and personalized options (the most effective option) can cost over half a million dollars. This would put stem cell therapy out of reach for all but the wealthiest, but that isn’t the case. So, what are stem cell injections made from today?
The option we here at Bioxcellerator use are the stem cells sourced from the Wharton’s Jelly. This stem-cell-rich tissue comes with many benefits, and is more readily available than other sources.
By sourcing our stem cells from there, we:
- Avoid depleting a person’s essential stem cell count, since umbilical cords and the placenta are part of after-birth.
- Gain access to a large quantity of stem cells, since umbilical cords and Wharton’s Jelly is rich with stem cells
- Help reduce the risk that recipient immune responses activate during the treatment and destroy the new stem cells in the process; since the stem cells themselves lack a surface protein, other stem cells do that immune systems typically tend to identify as foreign.
Our stem cell treatments, of course, go further. We screen available umbilical cords and start with the healthiest options. We then extract the stem cells, screen all the cells, and then work on purifying and dividing them to boost their numbers.
Finally, we screen through them once more, and then store them so that they’re ready for you during your treatment plan.
Want to Start with the Best Available Treatment Today?
The FDA has only approved stem cell therapy for blood disease treatment. That does not mean, however, that you cannot get stem cell therapy at any of the locations we cover. It just means you need to cover the cost yourself – either upfront, or through a payment plan.
Since it’s a private treatment, you can choose to get started at any time. Go get in touch with our team to start today.
